This was so spooky and atmospheric! I loved the exploration of sisterhood, and the dynamic between the two main characters. It was gripping and immersive, and the horror elements were perfect. Also the cover is so good!

Creepy doesn't even begin to describe this book. My advice: don't read it before going to sleep. Because you won't sleep. More than once, I had to fight the urge to cover my eyes, so I couldn't see what was happening (yeah, I know, not really efficient while reading a book🤦‍♀️). I liked the weirdness of it, but it was so dark and twisted for a sixteen year old girl!

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the complimentary e-copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was really intrigued by this book at first by the description. As I started to read it, it was really hard for me to get past the first few chapters. The description of how Skye just wanted a fresh start from her weird little sister is something that everyone with a younger sibling can relate to. As her sister begins to get even weirder and then all of a sudden disappear, something just seemed off for me. Once I pushed through, it started to get creepier and the storyline became something that I just couldn't get on board with. Overall, this book really just wasn't for me.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
 
I want to start by saying… WOW, that friggin cover is absolutely gorgeous. Before even reading the synopsis of Here There are Monsters, I knew I had to have this book based on the cover alone. Props to whoever designed this cover, for real. Now once I read the synopsis I knew that this book had to be mine. I was so intrigued to see what a Blair Witch/Imaginary Girls looked like. I don’t usually read too many scary, creepy books, but I thought why the heck not with this one. This book didn’t disappoint either. I had been backed up on a lot of my books so I didn’t actually get a chance to read my ARC but instead got the audiobook so I could get it done quicker. I am so glad that is how it worked out. Suzy Jackson did an amazing job with each character especially the creepy ones. There were times that it just was too creepy to listen to, which I loved! 
 
We follow Skye in this book. She is the older sister of Deirdre. Since they were little they have always been very close. They always played a make belive game where Sky was Deirdre’s champion, her protector. She was the Queen of Swords. But once their family moves Skye feels like she is getting too old for games like that, and because of an event that happened in their old town, she just wants to be a normal teenage girl. She makes friends with the popular girl and even becomes friends with the boy next door. Deidre is not handling Skye making friends and not wanting to play her games anymore. She also seems to be folding into herself more. She starts becoming fixated on the woods behind their house and starts making monsters out of animal bones and stick. 
 
One day after school Deirdre disappears. Skye feels somewhat at fault because she was home with her and fell asleep when she disappeared. The whole town is now on the search for her and Skye’s parents aren’t dealing with all the stress very well. Skye wants to find her sister but also thinks that Deirdre is just making everything up. When something monstrous comes to her in the middle of the night Skye finds that she is the only one that can save her sister because she is the Queen of Swords and her sisters champion. Skye ends up having to make some serious decisions on how to get her sister back, but not everything is as it seems. 
 
I couldn’t stop listening to this book! It had me hooked for the beginning. I loved that the book went back and forth from present to past so we could get more of a look into Skye and Deirdre’s relationship. If you like creepy books, this would be the perfect read for you. You never know what is going to happen next. I would also recommend listening to the audiobook if you can. It adds more of a creepiness to it that I don’t think you could get reading on your own.

First Impression:
As a mood reader, I should have read this in October.

Recommended?
If you're into creepy woods and missing people, hell yes. But save it for fall!
I really loved the premise of this book, adored the setting and the whole atmosphere. I'm a big fan of the 'twisted-woods' and missing people storyline and I love sister bonds, but I still had a hard time getting through this book. Some part of it was the season; this is not a summer read. I also got a little bit confused at the end.

What it's about:
Long story short? Skye's sister Deidre goes missing. Now, Deidre was always a little odd, going into the woods and making up stories about them. But after she goes missing, Skye is starting the wonder if Deidre's imaginary fantasy wood is perhaps not so imaginary after all....

Rating: 3, but may change on a re-read

This was my first book by Amelinda Bérubé, so I didn't know what to expect. I don't read much horror anymore and I haven't read a lot of YA horror at all, so I feel like I had contrasting expectations from the end of this book, and it's hard to say whether they've been met or not. But let's start with the rest of the book before I talk about the ending.

I would describe this as Sadie meets Never-Contented Things (and those are both novels I loved). The quest of the missing sister, the uncaring parents and the overall failure of adults to be there for teens paired well with the creepy forest atmosphere, and it was at times almost terrifying. If I were someone who rates different points of a book to do a mathematical avg, I would definitely be giving the atmosphere a solid five stars.

I have a harder time judging the characters. My first instinct is to mark them as stereotypes, but that's not exactly right. They're more archetypes of teens, and a lot of them are terrible (more on this later). If I were to say something about any of them, is how the love interest is a soft boy who wouldn't hurt a fly, and since the stereotypical YA love interest is the asshole, brooding type, I more than appreciate this. Whether this book was kind to him, or to any of its character for that matter, is something I doubt, and I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions.

While I enjoyed most of this book and it was definitely going to be at least a full 4 stars, the ending left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. It's not, per se, a bad ending. I feel like it's not the plot itself that let me down, but the message that was sent, or at least the message I understood. And here comes what I mentioned before: horror doesn't have to be hopeful, but YA does. What does, then, YA horror need to achieve? Is it okay to stick to the genre's message without taking into account the target group? Is it okay to do the opposite? Is there a way to achieve both?

I feel like strictly speaking, the ending tried to be both hopeful and hopeless, which probably wasn't easy to do. But inevitably when there's both hope and not-hope, the negative will always override the positive, like mixing a lot of light paint and a little dark one will inevitably result in a dark color. And here there was so much more dark than light. When I say dark I don't mean tragic. Perhaps that's what throws me off, it's so dark because it isn't tragic. Tragic we can handle, we can get closure. Here, I'm not sure we get closure of any kind. In a way, this is where this book diverges from my Sadie comparison: Sadie is tragic and it has very good reasons to be that. This book had every chance to be hopeful or at the very least tragic, but it wasn't either.

Terrible teens exist, and there are often reasons why they're terrible, and all of us are or were terrible as teens in our own way. And we need to see that we're not alone. But to see that and accept that in a narrative that's so, ultimately, hopeless, without seeing a sliver of light other than "you're not alone in being terrible, you're surrounded by other terrible people too", is frankly a little disappointing and defies at least part of this novel's genre. That's, at least, how I felt about it.

I don't know if I would recommend this book. If you need hope in your life, if you can handle a dark story as long as there's light at the end, I would say maybe avoid it. If you don't care and want to read a creepy novel, give it a try.

TWs: animal deaths, violence, missing girl, blood, gore

(3.5 stars)

(This review will be posted on my blog on August 12, at https://pingwings.ca/here-there-are-monsters)

I was very intrigued by this book. Sibling stories with a horror / fantasy / thriller element are always interesting to me, and the synopsis and cover of Here There Are Monsters definitely grabbed my attention.

I feel torn about this book because I really liked some elements of it (the mystery of what happened to Deirdre; the way the story moved back and forth in time; the creepiness of the woods and what was out there; Skye and Deirdre’s complicated relationship), but I failed to connect with the characters or with the story emotionally, which prevented me from really getting invested in this one. I also felt sometimes like the pacing was uneven, so sometimes there seemed to be a lot happening at once and other times I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen.

Overall, I enjoyed this one, and while it wasn’t full on horror, I think it’s a good recommendation for a creepy YA read. I do feel like the comparison to Imaginary Girls is somewhat apt (at least, based on my recollection it is – it’s definitely been a few years since I read that one), so if you liked that book and/or if you’re intrigued by the synopsis or cover like I was, check this one out!

I received an eARC from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was pretty creepy for the most part, but ultimate it just didn't work for me. The ending was a let down and I didn't connect with any of the characters.

I went into this book assuming the same YA twists and turns would happen in the formula that’s always present in these types of stories. It was refreshing to see a new take on this idea. Skye is a complex character that I believe actually learns something by the end of the journey. Deidre is a whirlwind of a girl and I loved how she didn’t bend for anyone. I was really happy to read a story about more than just a relationship/love triangle and the creepy bits throughout really worked with the plot. I wish this was a little more about the woods and their story, but overall I really enjoyed this one- it was nothing like I expected and I really didn’t see the ending playing out like it did. My only complaint about this book is that sometimes the back-and-forth narrative made it hard to keep track of when something was happening. I had to backtrack to see date stamps in a few places. Otherwise, everything worked for me (albeit I wished it was creepier). I’m going to keep an eye on this author. She’s got a great eye for detail.

For some reason I wasn’t very excited for Here There Are Monsters. I have had an ARC for months and kept putting off reading it. I’ve been on a fantasy kick lately and this title seemed more like a cross between horror and paranormal and for some reason I didn’t expect much from it. I have just wanted to read books set in fantasy worlds instead. As the publication date started creeping up I decided it was finally time to read it. Right from the beginning I was hooked. The writing is very attention grabbing and the book started off with Deirdre going missing. This book sunk its teeth into me and I found myself tearing right through it.

Monsters were way more interesting to Deirdre than animals, even talking ones.

This book is about two sisters named Deirdre and Skye, and it is told from Skye’s first person point of view. Deirdre still likes to create fantasy worlds and in these worlds Skye is always the Queen of Swords who protects her. When the family moves to try and give the girls a fresh start Skye tries to make new friends, but Deirdre is playing the same games and acting more strange than ever before. Skye is torn between being there for her sister and making new friends, but once her sister goes missing she feels like she made the wrong choice.

Riding to her rescue was my job before I ever had to do it in real life.

This book had me completely hooked for the first half. The character development was done incredibly well. I could easily relate to Skye as I have a sister and during high school we grew apart a little, but I would also do absolutely anything for her. Skye’s desire to protect her sister was something I could relate to very strongly, and I feel like that fact made this story so powerful for me. The sibling relationship in this story is incredibly complicated, but so well done and so relatable for anyone who grew up with a sibling. The first half of the story focuses on Deirdre going missing, but also flashbacks on how the family had gotten to this point. That part of the story was incredible, but I had some issues with the second half of the book.

I am not going to think of what closure might mean for Deirdre. She’s still out there somewhere. One way or another, she’s coming home. Fuck closure. We won’t need it.

The second half of the story is when the paranormal aspects enter the book and I have to admit, it takes some suspension of belief. While I did really enjoy it and the stories behind it all, I had a hard time feeling like it was real or even possible. I think that maybe it could have used a little more descriptions or maybe if the paranormal creatures didn’t talk I would have found them more creepy or real. Despite having this issue I still absolutely loved the book.

“She wasn’t always like that. Not with me. She was… she could be magic. You know? She could halfway convince you anything was real because she believed it so hard.”

Overall I am really impressed. I didn’t really expect to devour this book so fast or to relate so easily to the main character. I love Amelinda Berube’s writing and am so impressed by this story. I loved reading the acknowledgements and learning that this story was based on the woods behind her house, because I felt like the woods were a vital part of this story and the fact that they came from life was so cool to hear. I think that the ending was absolutely perfect for this book and would highly recommend this as a great fall read. I haven’t read Amelinda Berube’s other novel The Dark Beneath the Ice, but after reading this one I moved her other title higher up my TBR list.

You can’t just walk away when someone needs a hero.

Probably more of a 2.5 rating. A true middle of the road story for me - nothing too bad, but nothing too good either.

While I think the atmosphere of the story was perfectly eerie and haunting, I couldn't quite get invested in the character's relationship so I didn't have as good a time with the story as I had hoped because I never became invested in Dierdre and Skye's relationship, though I did like seeing the build in the alternate timelines, I just didn't care. And unfortunately, the created monster wasn't really doing it for me, so that was a bit of a let down.

This is a wild read, one filled with suspense and horror. Things seem to go well at first and then it all comes to a teetering stop when one of the sisters disappear. The writing is euphoric in the way it's pieced together. A satisfying read, you really won't regret picking this one up. May I say, the cover is beautiful.

I’m a sucker for a good cover and this one instantly intrigued me. Horror is a new genre for me and I thought the story was well written. I was really into it for the first part of it and than it fell a little flat for me. I was confused throughout the ending of the book.

Last year I read Amelinda Bérubé’s first YA horror novel called, The Dark Beneath the Ice, and was absolutely enthralled with the story, so I was super excited to get my hands on this new story by her! And I am happy to say that the creeping, sinister vibe I loved in her first book definitely continued in this story as well!

Here There Are Monsters is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Skye, who has recently moved into a new neighborhood with her family. Skye is busy trying to start her life over and make friends in her new neighborhood, and keep up appearances, while her younger sister, Deirdre, is against conforming in any way. Deirdre isn’t the easiest person to get along with, and she isn’t exactly the most conventional person either. Skye has spent her whole life sticking up for Deirdre and she is tired of having to always be the strong one. In their new home, Deirdre quickly begins to withdraw more and more into herself, spending most of her time in the swampy woods outside their home creating her “monsters” out of bones and other scraps. When Deirdre suddenly disappears without a trace, Skye has to embrace the monsters of the swamp in order to find her sister.

I truly enjoyed this story and I really think I’m firmly standing by Amelinda’s horror stories from here on out! That being said, I will say this story might not be for everyone! Skye and Deirdre are both kind of antiheroines and at times it is difficult to root for either one of them. But I love stories like that, and I love when authors take a look at how far some people will go and how dark that can be. We learn pretty early on that Skye is certainly not telling the whole truth to her new friends and even her family, and she does a lot of pretending. But ultimately I loved her character. She was a real, flawed teenage girl who tried desperately to protect her sister at all costs, but also wanted her own life as well.

The supernatural aspect in this story was a lot subtler than it was in The Dark Beneath the Ice, but no less creepy! The monsters that Deirdre created were super unsettling to me and the cover completely conveys that! I also really enjoyed that the swamp and woods were their own characters and overlaid a general sinister atmosphere to the whole story.

If you are looking for great YA horror (which there isn’t enough of!) definitely check Here There Are Monsters out, as well Amelinda’s other work!

Here there are monsters sets the reader up to wander the forest with Deidre to save her sister, even though she is trying to separate herself from her sister's imaginary worlds. Where can you draw the line when you desperately want to fit in but it's up to you to save your sister, who definitely does not fit in anywhere? As a YA book, I did not expect the depth of character definition or such a uniquely written back story. Amelinda Berube has propelled these sisters into events that will test their loyalties and lead them into a fantastical world.

This book presents a main character who has lost her sister—here, "lost" is used literally, as the MC's sister has disappeared somewhere into the sprawling, ominous swampland behind their house. The language is surprisingly lyrical, atmosphere suffuses every scene, and the characterization and dialogue are perfect. What The Devouring Gray failed to accomplish with its forest setting, Monsters presents in spades.

I want to also touch on the sister dynamic in the book, which is extremely raw and real. The younger sister who's gone missing, Deirdre, is a girl in her own world, constantly rubbing her older sister, Skye, the wrong way. A fair warning that Skye is very harsh to her younger sister—if you are looking for a likable MC, this is not the book for you. But not everyone is likable, and it is okay to tell their stories. I suspect that it is for the "unlikable MC" reason that this has a lower score on Goodreads (currently 3.43).

I would describe this as a book that pushes the envelope in terms of the sister relationship, one particular plot twist, and the ending. How I've longed for good YA horror; thank goodness this author has arrived on the scene.

So if you were at all disappointed by The Devouring Gray, I really recommend giving Here There Are Monsters a try. I will absolutely looking out for future releases from the author, and the story will be staying with me for a long while; I may even pick up a hard copy.

I'll be honest, I generally don't pick up horror of any kind but despite knowing that Here There Are Monsters falls in the genre, I wanted to try it anyway. Unfortunately it didn't pan out and it wasn't because of the horror. 

Frankly, I didn't like either of the main characters, Skye and Deirdre. Neither sister really endeared herself to me as a reader and, combined with the timeline jumping and alternating chapters, I quickly lost interest in the book as a whole. They're both selfish and just plan unrelatable in the way they acted. I don't need to like a character but I do need to be invested in what they're doing in a character-driven story like this one. And I wasn't, and it meant Here There Are Monsters was a complete loss for me.

I think the book would have worked better if there had been less of a character focus and more on the atmosphere the story created. I'm imagining a mashup of And the Trees Crept In and Wink Poppy Midnight here that might have saved this read for me. The potential was there and I loved the creepy, eerie feel this story created. Even if the characters pulled me right out of that and made me want to throw my kindle across the room out of  frustration.

As for the writing, that aspect was solid and why I made it as far as I did (around the 56% mark before DNF-ing). I could see myself reading other books by this author, though perhaps not on the horror spectrum. My only issue with the writing came down more specifically to the story. The ending just wasn't satisfying. For all the build-up, it fell flat. 

While Here There Are Monsters certainly didn't work out for me, I think some readers will still enjoy it.

Here there are monsters is not what I expected and I mean this in a good way. This novel is suspenseful, creepy and intriguing.

Once you start reading you won't want to put it down. I loved every part. The story has a medium to fast pace that just picks up a quicker pace as the story gets deeper. There are a lot of twists and a good amount of mystery.

I honestly can only think of one thing that I didn't like about this novel. And that one thing is that I wanted more after I finished it. It left me with a book hangover feeling. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger but it makes you want more from this authors writing. And even this is not a bad thing.

I highly recommend this book if you want a dark, creepy young adult thriller. It also makes the perfect October read for those of us who like reading creepy books right before halloween.

“By wood, stone, water, and bone.”

That cover! 😍 It’s all kinds of creepy and intriguing. I’ve been look forward to reading this one for months.

Deidre has always lived in a world of fantasy, imagining elaborate kingdoms of queens, knights and monsters. Skye’s role as the Queen of Swords has always been to save Deidre but when they move to a new town that doesn’t know the sisters by reputation Skye sees a fresh start, a chance to have friends for once. Then Deidre disappears and Skye may have to pick up her sword once again.

I really enjoyed the introduction, with its promise of some weird and wonderful monsters. I liked getting to know Skye and trying to figure out Deidre, who we mostly get to know through her older sister. I’ve seen some reviews where Skye and Deidre cop a fair amount of disdain. While I can see where those readers are coming from, as a once upon a time teenage girl I can also see ‘Welcome to Adolescence’ written all over a lot of these sisters’ quirks. They can be mean, vindictive, antagonistic, manipulative, selfish and annoying at times.

I actually loved that Skye wasn’t all sunshine and sweetness. She isn’t a girl who’s obsessed with her appearance. She’ll never be head cheerleader. Instead her only claim to fame has been ‘freak by proxy’, the weird girl’s sister, protector and only friend. She’s a real girl with real problems.

“If she was going to disappear into her imaginary world and make herself a target all over again, it wasn’t like I could stop her.
But she wasn’t keeping me in there with her. Not anymore.”

Skye’s story explores family, friendships and secrets, and the lengths we will go to in order to protect them. The family dynamics make it seem inevitable that Deidre will follow where her monsters lead her. It also seems predetermined that although Skye should never have been cast in the role of her sister’s only protector that she would feel the pull of this during a time of crisis, no matter how much she wants to hold onto the new life she has forged for herself.

I loved the alternating chapters, which told me what was happening now and caught me up on the past, giving much needed context to the present. For a long time I expected Deidre’s behaviour to come with a mental health diagnosis, even if some of her monsters were real. While Deidre came across as weird I never found the creepiness I expected from this book.

I was eagerly anticipating the appearance of this book’s monsters from the first time I read the blurb, but I found them disappointing. There was such a build up to them and while I loved their form, their voices didn’t work for me. I did find out why that was but even then it didn’t sit right with me. Their motivation was barely explored and their history was only hinted at. The resolution to their story was a let down for me.

If I could review this book in two parts, I’d be giving ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the pre monster part and ⭐️⭐️⭐️ after they arrive.

Content warnings include bullying.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Thank you to SourceBooks and NetGalley for the ARC- will post to all links in my profile 7/27.

Here There are Monsters by Amelinda Berube started off as a very gripping story that just didn't follow through. I kept waiting for certain pieces to fall into place and they never did.

In order for a suspenseful thriller to work, especially one that bends in to fantasy, it must accomplish certain plot features. First, it must create reader buy-in to the center of magic. It must also allow the reader to suspend belief. I'm a huge fan of Marvel. I watch the Walking Dead. I have the ability to both buy into Magic, let go of the time traveling (because in the end it was a vehicle for the movie, not what the movie was about) in End Game, and a variety of comics. If anyone can suspend disbelief as a reader, I am one of them. However, Here There are Monsters wasn't able to get me to buy-in to the plot or suspend disbelief.

For one the magic system was not fully explained (truthfully I think this is something that is beginning to happen across many fantasy novels that feature magic across the YA spectrum- authors need to tighten it up). That is the wonder of mages and magic systems. It is a craft that shouldn't be lost.

I do like Deidre as a character. I really connected to her because as a teenager I went through that feeling of being very different from others. Although it was an isolated feeling, I never wanted to change just to be like everyone else, either. That is a tough place to be. When she suddenly goes missing, her sister Skye is the only person who can figure out the how and why. There for, she is the only one with the ability and belief that she can rescue Deidre.

In her efforts to rescue Deidre that the timeline begins shifting back and forth. This worked for a while as it explained why Skye is not able to save Deidre and how their relationship begins to fray. Once the relationship frays and Deidre is lost to everyone is when the story also ultimately is lost. The monsters and the grief of losing a child doesn't really work out. This both due to the lack of understanding the monsters and magic that take Deidre and the parents who aren't really flushed out. They are surface, side characters that you can't connect to at all.

This confusion of magic and the monsters also effects the end of the story. You don't know what ultimately happens to Deidre and Skye's character changes totally. The ending leaves with so many questions you would think there is a second book coming but this is a stand alone. It isn't an ending that leaves you with the type of questions that are open to interpretation, in my opinion, but instead are just confusing and unsatisfying.